The Namibia Economist

Jaguar FX 3lt V6 petrol Luxury fast and beautiful!

Beyond a shadow of doubt the Jaguar XF is the styling leader of the pack for mid-size luxury sedans. Incredibly Jaguar has made the sleek sedan look even better as part of the changes for the 2012 model. The Jaguar XF is a thrilling luxury saloon if class, sophistication, elegance and uniqueness are what you’re after.
For the 2012 update, Jaguar has completely redesigned the front, adding new headlights with daytime running lamps, a restyled bonnet and new chrome side ‘power vents’. The rear has new lights, an updated bumper and more chrome highlights.
Beauty may be subjective but it will be hard to find someone that genuinely doesn’t think the new Jaguar XF is stunning in appearance. The new look to the front and headlight structure gives the Jaguar a unique style. It’s the type of timeless car design that you love from the moment you see it.
Jaguar’s interior designers have used a contour of well-matched colours that flow throughout the cabin to bring a sense of calm. For a starting price of N$560,000 it’s impressive that the interior is standard. Everything is soft touch, wrapped in leather and is a pleasure to touch.
Even the 7-inch full colour TFT touch screen is standard on the entry model. The colour screen controls the media system (USB/iPod/iPhone) plus Blue tooth phone and audio streaming, but doesn’t come with satellite navigation standard, which is an option. That will also get you a 30GB hard drive equipped with a virtual CD stacker that can store your music.
The front seats are as expected, comfortable and plush. Rear legroom and headroom are more than sufficient to comfortably fit two adults. The boot is enormous and easily takes in super size luggage.
The ZF-supplied transmission system is matched to steering wheel-mounted paddle-shifters, which allow you to shift up and down with ease. The new gearbox can also shift from any gear to another instantly (e.g. it can go from 8th to 2nd without having to go through the in-between gears).
One of the unique features of the XF is the ‘easy-off’ system. If you want to get out of the vehicle while the engine is in ‘stop’ mode, the car will automatically put itself into park, engage the handbrake and turn it self completely off. So if you happen to undo your seatbelt then release the brake pedal while the engine is in ‘stop’ mode, the XF’s computers will recognise that you want to get out and perform the procedure. You don’t even need to press the engine start/stop button. It’s all automatic.
The XF manoeuvres around town with ease and is well behaved around the corners. Pushed to its handling limits, the XF’s numerous stability control systems kick in to bring the vehicle back in line. Ride quality is smooth over potholes and bumps and despite its large size, the XF is easy to drive in and out of tight spots aided by sensors.
The 3-litre engine provides more than enough power to keep the vehicle moving at speed. Power delivery is smooth and available across the rev range. The XF cruises along easily at 180km/h and reaches 200km/h without much trouble.
If you love music, you can option your XF with a 17-speaker Bowers & Wilkins 1200W audio system. Playing music wirelessly from my iPhone, the audio system puts the sound quality of many modern cinemas to shame.
The entry model XF comes with Alcantara / Bond Grain Leather facings, electric driver’s/passenger’s adjustment, dual zone climate control, 17” alloy wheels, cruise control with speed limiter, bi-xenon headlamps, LED DRLs, blue tooth connectivity, 7” full colour touch screen, 10 speaker 400W Jaguar sound system, 3-spoke leather steering wheel with paddles, keyless start, TFT display in the instrument cluster and rear parking sensors.
Safety is also taken care of with front and side airbags and all the nanny controls you can dream of. The XF features optional Adaptive Cruise Control which monitors vehicles around it, automatically slowing if the vehicle in front brakes then resuming the pre-set speed once the obstruction is cleared.
The Advanced Braking Systems help assure smooth stopping and include an Intelligent Emergency Brake option with Adaptive Cruise Control, which detects the severity of the stopping situation and applies optimum crisis braking forces as necessary. The XF will do its utmost to prevent a collision and in the event of a crash, does everything it can to protect you.
In summary, the new 2012 Jaguar XF has a significant range of updates to the exterior, interior and under the bonnet. The range has also been extended to offer a variant for everyone.
There is no doubt the 2012 Jaguar XF is going to keep the Germans awake at night. With the company going from strength to strength and reliability being a non-issue, there has never been a better time to consider a Jaguar.

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